The former coach of the Wallaceburg Lakers says he feels “blindsided” after being let go by the Junior ‘C’ club last week, just eight games into the season. Meanwhile, the Lakers are sticking to their guns, saying that “tough decisions need to be made to grow an organization.”
Lakers coaches let go last week
Rick Vancoillie told the Sydenham Current he did not see the dismissal coming.
“We played Blenheim Wednesday night. We lost 8-3, but we shot pretty even, 31-32 I think, and the team has been getting progressively better,” Vancoillie said.
“We don’t have any first line scoring talent and I think everybody can admit to that. So we are working on it right. We are getting better and better.”
Vancoillie said the following morning he got a text from Ritch Kanally, the general manager of the Lakers.
“‘Hey Rick, what do you think… I’m getting a lot of pressure from the executive to make a coaching change?’ and I said ‘Well I guess do what you’ve got to do then’ because it is pretty quick to me, eight games in. We were really blindsided. An owner talked to one of the coaches early in the season saying, ‘we really want to make changes. We don’t want this to be a laughing stock anymore. We want to be relevant again. We really like what you guys are doing and you know you guys can coach as long as you want, as far as I am concerned’. So we thought we had at least the year to make some difference and build. Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
Ed Burm, assistant coach, Luke Blackbird, assistant coach, and Justin Allaer, goalie coach, were all asked to step down as well, Vancoillie said.
“So everything was by text,” he said.
“So we basically said ‘well we will step down I guess, if that is what you guys want” and so it was basically a forced resignation. I know I am not suppose to call it that, but that is what it is. We didn’t quit on the kids. We wanted to be there for the kids.”
Vancoillie added: “We were excited. Like even on Saturday, I talked to Ed and he said he misses it already. It was good. It is a family. I like those kids in there. They are a good bunch of guys. I wish all the best to the Lakers.”
“(The Lakers executive and management) talked about stability and that’s really why we were blindsided, because I couldn’t believe that all of the sudden we are done. I don’t know. Eight games in?” Vancoillie said.
“We were heroes almost two and half weeks ago when we beat Dresden at home and then had a great game against Lakeshore. Then you know they had a stinker in Petrolia, but it happens. They are young. It is a young group. There is only one 21-year-old on the team. Everybody else is 17 and 18 years old basically. It is a young group of kids basically going against 20-year-olds for the most part for a lot of these teams.”
Vancoillie said he doesn’t know who made the final decision.
“Well it seems like everybody is pointing fingers at everybody else, so I don’t know,” he said.
“I don’t know who made the call because nobody will tell me and really nobody has ever talked to me so I don’t know who made the call. You hear other people saying ‘it wasn’t me’ and then you see on social media that the executives had nothing to do with it. There is so many people dipping their fingers in the jar. I couldn’t tell you who made the decision.”
Vancoillie: “There is obviously more motives involved I would guess because I don’t know what else it could be. They are bringing in some other kids, but we wanted to see these other kids. We wanted the team to get better. We didn’t want them to be stagnant and not grow. That was the idea of the whole thing to get better and grow and become relevant again. That was the idea.”
Lakers make “tough decision”
The Wallaceburg Lakers organization sent the following press release to the media on Monday morning:
“The Lakers organization has come under scrutiny for decisions made in the past week regarding our coaching staff,” the statement said.
“Tough decisions need to be made to grow an organization and we support the decision of our management team. We wish Rick Vancoille and the previous coaching staff well in their future endeavours. We look forward to working with John Hartig and our new coaching staff as we continue to solidify our foundation as an organization.”
The Lakers statement concluded, by saying: “As individuals, we may not always share the same point of view, but as an organization we share the same vision. Each member, from parents to players, management to coaching staff, executive to investors, continue to be 100% invested in the Wallaceburg Lakers organization and its success. We thank our community for their continued support and share their pride in this local team. We move forward with ‘old traditions, new ambitions’.”
Kanally posted a statement on the Lakers website last week, confirming the changes.
“We wish Rick, Ed, Luke, and Justin all the best in the future endeavours,” Kanally said.
“This year is crucial for the Lakers and after losing the last six games and with nearly 25% of the season gone, we needed to make a change.”
Vancoille was hired in March
Back in the spring, Kanally praised Vancoille when he was brought on board.
“Rick has been coaching for 13 years and recently coached the Wallaceburg Midgets to an OMHA championship,” Kanally told the Sydenham Current back in March.
“Rick is a local Wallaceburg guy who played his minor hockey in the Wallaceburg system and should be a huge asset to the organization.”
The club also had high hopes for the coaching staff back in the spring.
“GM Ritch Kanally and Assistant GM Darryl Lucio have a plan set forth to put a winning team on the ice again, that the people of Wallaceburg will be proud of, and it started with the hiring of coach, Rick Vancoille, (assistant coaches) Ed Burm and Luke Blackbird (and) goalie coach, Justin Allaer,” the team posted on their website in the spring.
“You need a lot of leaders, but a hockey team needs a voice, not only in the community, but more importantly between the coaching staff and the players. There are always ups and downs in a season. This staff of the Lakers are looking forward to a new season and a new chapter.”
Next up
Port Huron’s John Hartig is taking over behind the bench and will become the Lakers 10th head coach in the past six-plus seasons.
John Hartig Jr. and Nick Hartig will now be assistant coaches.
The Lakers are currently 1-7-0 on the season, last place in the West Stobbs Division of the Provincial Junior Hockey League.
The Lakers are in Wheatley on Monday, before hosting Petrolia on Wednesday.
– Photo credit: Wallaceburg Lakers
